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With the international break upon us, four Real Madrid stars have taken advantage of the hiatus in domestic duties to show off their ping-pong skills.

Luka Modric, Sami Khedira, Michael Essien and Ricardo Carvalho teamed up in a titanic table tennis clash, with the midfield pair just about edging out the former Chelsea duo by 21 points to 19.

While the match may have appeared to be little more than a friendly, the competitive nature of the four Blancos stars soon begins to shine through from behind the smiles, with a stunning forehand smash from Essien the highlight of a closely-fought encounter.

With the scores deadlocked at 19 apiece, it was Essien who ultimately yielded the win: a wayward backhand followed by an all-or-nothing smash into his own side of the table handed Modric and Khedira the victory.

Could the quartet form a formidable squad of table-tennis pros when their footballing careers come to an end? Probably not. But they certainly make for compelling viewing as we await the first international fixtures of the week.